I Always Came
by DarkLightningEnvy
Summary: Post S4. Regina calls on Emma in the woods, fully intending on taking her anger out on the new Dark One.


"I summon you, Dark One…"

Regina's hand shook with her unsteady grip on the dagger, and she peered cautiously around the woods. Why wasn't it working? It wasn't possible for the Dark One to ignore the call of one who held the dagger. So where the hell was this fool?

"Dark One, I summon you," Regina growled. Despite the tremble of emotion in her voice, Regina was growing impatient. And angry. She didn't like to be kept waiting, and she certainly didn't like being ignored. And this…

"EMMA SWAN!"

Finally, black and gold smoke appeared in front of her, closer to the clearing that Regina stood by but not actually in. It was dark, but Regina could still make out the flash of blonde that stood out before anything after the smoke cleared. Emma Swan blinked at her in confusion.

"Regi –"

Emma didn't even finish her name before she was shoved harshly backwards by a force she hadn't even seen coming. For a moment, Emma thought Regina had used magic; but when she looked up and saw the brunette hovering not far from where Emma was originally standing, she realized Regina had pushed her with her bare hands.

"Regina, what –"

Again, she didn't get to finish. Regina bent over and snatched two handfuls of Emma's shirt, yanking her to her feet with a surprising amount of strength, and slammed her back into the tree behind her. For the first time since Emma had shown up accusing her of murdering Archie, Regina took pleasure in the look of absolute shock (and hint of fear) in bright green eyes.

"You're a fool," Regina hissed, face barely an inch from Emma's. "You're a _fool_. What the _hell_ were you thinking?"

"I didn't –"

"I didn't ask for your protection!" Regina snarled, yanking Emma from the tree trunk and throwing her to the ground again. Wind knocked from her lungs, Emma could only stare as Regina's hands lifted in preparation for a blast of magic. As if realizing what she was doing, Regina's arms snapped to her sides, her fingers clenched into fists. She could see the noticeable sigh of relief the blonde let out.

"I couldn't let this happen to you," Emma said quickly, albeit feebly, trying to speak before Regina could interrupt her again. "You worked…you've done too much…"

"You're pure!" Regina insisted, still snarling. "You're the Savior! Dark magic was never supposed to touch your heart!"

Emma wanted to say that she didn't feel different. She wanted to insist that the only difference was that an inanimate object controlled her. But she could feel it. She could feel the darkness traveling through her, creeping through her veins. The urges made her sick. She wanted to find Zelena and rip her throat out for threatening Regina's happiness. She wanted to find Gold and plunge the dagger through his heart for doing this to her. She wanted to find Robin Hood and rip his heart out, crush it into dust for taking…

Emma blinked herself back to reality before that thought could complete itself, and scrambled for a reply. "Regina, my heart is fine," she tried, voice pleading for her to understand. "I haven't…I haven't done anything." That much was true, at least. She had wanted to, but she had a little more strength than the urges. For now. Emma had been hiding out in the woods, in a cabin somewhere far off; so far off that she assumed it belonged to Regina, for it could never have been meant to be found. Emma was too afraid to socialize herself.

Regina couldn't take it anymore. Emma's ignorance was starting to remind her of Snow White when that insolent little brat was a child. A few steps had her directly over the blonde, and she dropped gracefully to her knees; hand plunging deep into Emma's chest. She didn't relent, even as Emma cried out in pain. When she finally pulled free, she held the Savior's heart, bright and beating with life in her palm.

It wasn't as bad as Regina had expected. There was still mostly red, and it still pulsed in her hand with the kind of life her own had run out of years ago. But she was an observer when it came to the hearts of others; she had taken so many, kept so many in her possession, that it didn't take a whole lot of effort anymore to find what she was looking for. "Look," she hissed, shoving the muscle in Emma's face.

Emma looked. She didn't really have another choice. Starting at the center, there was a small, greyish shadow. It looked to be slowly spreading; the very center of the blemish was obsidian. Emma didn't understand; she hadn't _done_ anything. Were just the thoughts, the urges, doing this to her…?

"Your purity is already ruined," Regina said, not seeming to care about the look of absolute horror on Emma's face as the blonde stared at her own heart. Even without it, there was still feeling. Not quite as strong, but it was still there. "The darkness is already there. Do you have any idea what it's going to take to come back from this?"

Taking a slow breath, Emma met Regina's gaze. "Put it back," she said slowly. "Please." Everything felt too empty without it. It was making her a lot less comfortable with her attempts to convince Regina that she really was okay. "Please," she repeated when Regina looked hesitantly between Emma and the heart she gripped. The blonde could feel a faint throb in her chest; she knew Regina was gripping just a little too tightly. She didn't say anything; not yet, at least.

"No," Regina said finally, getting up off of the ground and taking a step backwards. Emma's eyes widened.

"Regina," Emma said warningly.

"No," Regina repeated, voice practically snarling again. "You're not making this heart any darker than it's already getting."

"Regina," Emma said incredulously, pushing herself from the ground as well. "You can't just –"

" _Yes I can!"_ Regina shrieked, causing Emma to take a startled step backwards. The look on Regina's face was terrifying; one step off of completely wild and unhinged. She hadn't even looked like this when she thought Emma was trying to take Henry. Emma found herself confused; why was Regina acting like this? They had gotten close. Emma had sacrificed herself for Regina's happiness, for God's sake.

But she had never expected this.

"Regina," Emma tried, summoning her courage and taking a step towards the woman. "Why do you…why is this…"

It wasn't until the blonde touched her that she realized Regina's magic had been pulsing around her in strong waves of energy. The force of it threw her backwards, and she landed in another heap on the ground. She winced as she sat up, a sharp pain in her lower back. This woman was going to kill her one day.

As Emma looked up, she realized Regina had advanced on her. It didn't really process until the woman was on her knees again, flinging herself at Emma and crashing their lips together, the heart still clutched in her hand. Emma didn't know how to react; she sat frozen, startled by the desperate whimper from Regina before the brunette pressed her lips even harder to hers. Before even thinking about it, Emma had her arms around Regina's waist to pull her closer, her lips parting against hers. Her actions processed when Regina cried out in relief against her lips.

They remained that way for a long time; kissing desperately in the middle of the woods, the only sounds consisting of one or both of them whimpering into the kiss they shared. Regina kept hold of Emma's heart the entire time, careful with it, even when her free hand tangled into Emma's hair and she shifted to straddle her lap. That was Emma's breaking point; she had to pull away, because there were a lot more things they could be doing in these woods, and she had a feeling they were heading in that direction.

Panting hard against Emma's lips, Regina clenched her fingers tighter in blonde locks and opened her eyes to look at her. She still looked desperate; the wild look in her eyes had diminished, but now she just looked conflicted. Emma knew what she was thinking.

"You're true love is Robin Hood," Emma whispered. "We can't do this."

Swallowing, Regina took a slow breath, then closed her eyes again. When they reopened, the conflict was gone. "Please," she whispered against Emma's lips. "Let me…please let me keep it…" She brought Emma's heart close to her body. "I can…hide it…protect it, until…" A stricken look passed her features, as if just realizing that saving Emma might not be an option.

The realization hit Emma harder. A lot harder than she ever anticipated. All she could do was stare at Regina for a very long time, so long that her silence was noticeably panicking Regina. "Keep it," Emma finally whispered. Regina looked like she was going to faint in relief. It just made Emma's next words that much harder. "You have to promise me…that if I ever do something really bad…you'll crush it."

Regina stared at Emma, her lips parting n absolute horror. "Emma –"

"No," Emma said sharply. "You have to promise me, Regina. You can't let me get away with anything just because I was the Savior, and you think you can save me. You might not be able to…" Her hand came up to cup Regina's jaw, and she pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "So you have to crush it, and then you need to give Robin a chance. You need to give him a chance anyway."

"No," Regina croaked, head shaking. "No…"

"Regina, please," Emma pleaded. "We don't even know if you'll have to do it. But if you do…you're the only one I trust to do it right."

Tears streamed down Regina's face, and suddenly she was sobbing into Emma's neck. Emma could only rest her head on hers, arms clutching her around her waist. But it didn't last long; the brunette seemed to realize the state she was in, because she suddenly shot off of Emma's lap, brushing the leaves from her knees and patting down her hair. Her eyes gave her away completely.

Slowly, Emma climbed to her own feet, taking a step forward. Regina took a step back, and Emma winced. She didn't try to make her make any more promises. After they stared at each other for a long time, Regina finally decided to speak.

"Why tonight?"

Emma frowned. Her lips parted in confusion, then snapped shut again when she realized she had absolutely no clue what Regina was talking about. "Huh?" she finally asked dumbly.

"I've called you for the past three nights," Regina said, not looking at Emma. "You never came. The dagger…you were supposed to come. You shouldn't have had a choice." Pausing, realizing she was angry, Regina took a slow breath. "Why did you come tonight?"

Emma had to look away, despite Regina not even looking at her in the first place. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she should have said, but she couldn't. Not with so many blockages up between them. Not after they had already done something that they shouldn't have done.

"I always came," Emma said quietly instead. "I was here every night. You just couldn't see me."


End file.
